Large-scale, sub-tropical cloud activity near Titan's 1995 equinox

M. T. Lemmon; R. D. Lorenz; P. H. Smith; J. J. Caldwell

doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2019.03.042

Large-scale, sub-tropical cloud activity near Titan's 1995 equinox

M. T. Lemmon, R. D. Lorenz, P. H. Smith, J. J. Caldwell

Lunar and Planetary Lab

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

We report observations of Titan using 190 images from the Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 and NICMOS over 4 oppositions of Titan 1994–1997. Analysis of these images yields maps of surface brightness at 0.67, 0.94, and 1.08 μm that compare well with Cassini data, plus some transient features that are interpreted as large cloud systems. These systems indicate either two clouds covering 2 × 10 ⁶ km ² (~10% of Titan's observable disk and 2–3% of Titan's surface) in September 1995 or a repeat observation of a single cloud. The clouds are estimated to be upper-tropospheric, with tops between 27 and 39 km altitude. This pre-Cassini observation of prominent cloud activity near 30°N and 40°N shortly before equinox (L _s = 177°) mirrors more recent Cassini observations and serves as an important constraint on the seasonal variation of convective activity with latitude on Titan.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	1-14
Number of pages	14
Journal	Icarus
Volume	331
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2019.03.042
State	Published - Oct 2019

Keywords

Meteorology
Satellites, atmospheres
Titan, atmosphere
Titan, clouds

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Astronomy and Astrophysics
Space and Planetary Science

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10.1016/j.icarus.2019.03.042

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title = "Large-scale, sub-tropical cloud activity near Titan's 1995 equinox",

abstract = " We report observations of Titan using 190 images from the Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 and NICMOS over 4 oppositions of Titan 1994–1997. Analysis of these images yields maps of surface brightness at 0.67, 0.94, and 1.08 μm that compare well with Cassini data, plus some transient features that are interpreted as large cloud systems. These systems indicate either two clouds covering 2 × 10 6 km 2 (~10% of Titan's observable disk and 2–3% of Titan's surface) in September 1995 or a repeat observation of a single cloud. The clouds are estimated to be upper-tropospheric, with tops between 27 and 39 km altitude. This pre-Cassini observation of prominent cloud activity near 30°N and 40°N shortly before equinox (L s = 177°) mirrors more recent Cassini observations and serves as an important constraint on the seasonal variation of convective activity with latitude on Titan.",

keywords = "Meteorology, Satellites, atmospheres, Titan, atmosphere, Titan, clouds",

author = "Lemmon, {M. T.} and Lorenz, {R. D.} and Smith, {P. H.} and Caldwell, {J. J.}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2019 Elsevier Inc.",

year = "2019",

month = oct,

doi = "10.1016/j.icarus.2019.03.042",

language = "English (US)",

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T1 - Large-scale, sub-tropical cloud activity near Titan's 1995 equinox

AU - Lemmon, M. T.

AU - Lorenz, R. D.

AU - Smith, P. H.

AU - Caldwell, J. J.

PY - 2019/10

Y1 - 2019/10

N2 - We report observations of Titan using 190 images from the Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 and NICMOS over 4 oppositions of Titan 1994–1997. Analysis of these images yields maps of surface brightness at 0.67, 0.94, and 1.08 μm that compare well with Cassini data, plus some transient features that are interpreted as large cloud systems. These systems indicate either two clouds covering 2 × 10 6 km 2 (~10% of Titan's observable disk and 2–3% of Titan's surface) in September 1995 or a repeat observation of a single cloud. The clouds are estimated to be upper-tropospheric, with tops between 27 and 39 km altitude. This pre-Cassini observation of prominent cloud activity near 30°N and 40°N shortly before equinox (L s = 177°) mirrors more recent Cassini observations and serves as an important constraint on the seasonal variation of convective activity with latitude on Titan.

AB - We report observations of Titan using 190 images from the Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 and NICMOS over 4 oppositions of Titan 1994–1997. Analysis of these images yields maps of surface brightness at 0.67, 0.94, and 1.08 μm that compare well with Cassini data, plus some transient features that are interpreted as large cloud systems. These systems indicate either two clouds covering 2 × 10 6 km 2 (~10% of Titan's observable disk and 2–3% of Titan's surface) in September 1995 or a repeat observation of a single cloud. The clouds are estimated to be upper-tropospheric, with tops between 27 and 39 km altitude. This pre-Cassini observation of prominent cloud activity near 30°N and 40°N shortly before equinox (L s = 177°) mirrors more recent Cassini observations and serves as an important constraint on the seasonal variation of convective activity with latitude on Titan.

KW - Meteorology

KW - Satellites, atmospheres

KW - Titan, atmosphere

KW - Titan, clouds

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U2 - 10.1016/j.icarus.2019.03.042

DO - 10.1016/j.icarus.2019.03.042

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AN - SCOPUS:85065191592

SN - 0019-1035

VL - 331

SP - 1

EP - 14

JO - Icarus

JF - Icarus

ER -

Large-scale, sub-tropical cloud activity near Titan's 1995 equinox

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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